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Light Up The Holiday Season: 4 Tips For A Safe And Efficient Light Display

Posted on
2 December 2014

The holiday season is near, and you are probably dreaming of a grandiose lighting display you want to install outside your home. While holiday lighting is fun and magical, it is also important to be smart about how many lights you use. Here are some tips for setting up a safe and efficient holiday light display:

Pay Attention to Wattage

Before you even put the lights on the house, check to see how many watts they require. You should also know how many watts are available in your home. You can get this information from your electrician. You want to be careful not to overload your home, not only to save money on electricity costs, but also to ensure your circuits are not in jeopardy.

Have a Separate Circuit Installed

If you want to light up your home so brightly that Santa can see it from the North Pole, you may want to consider having an electrician come install a separate circuit dedicate solely to your holiday decorations. Decorative lighting often pulls quite a bit of electricity, so you want to be careful not to overload any circuits that are being used for other major items in your home, like the stove or refrigerator. Having another circuit installed is a short and fairly inexpensive job, and it can save you a blown circuit in the middle of your holiday celebration.

Use a Timer

Another great tip this holiday season is to utilize timers for your lights. Since these lights draw so much electricity, you will likely not want them to be on around the clock. Using a timer is a great way to ensure the lights go off and on at the times you decide. Timers are great for your holiday lights, especially since this is such a busy time of year. Who can remember to go outside and unplug the lights in the middle of a major gift wrapping session? Timers are inexpensive and can be found in any home improvement store.

Use LED Lights

To save the most money, consider using LED lights when decorating your home. LED lights are much cooler than incandescent lights, and they don't need as much energy to operate. As an added bonus, these lights produce a much more vibrant lighting effect. LED lights are a little more expensive upfront, but they last much longer than incandescent lights. You eventually save money because they don't have to be replaced nearly as often.

Decorating for the holidays can be so much fun, but it is important to be safe as well. Don't overload your circuits and keep all power cords out of walkways. In addition, don't use any power strips or electric sources that are only meant to be used indoors. Not only is this dangerous, but it could render all your hard work useless. Should you need help along the way, contact an electrician from places like Global Electric & Lighting Inc.